[Ord. No. 208 Art. 4, 11-20-1980; Ord. No. 217 §1, 2-2-1981; Ord. No. 221 §1, 6-1-1981; Ord. No. 224 §1, 7-19-1981; Ord. No. 357 §§8 — 10, 5-4-1992; Ord. No. 390 §715.090, 3-7-1994]
A. 
The minimum charge per month shall be eight dollars sixty-four cents ($8.64). In addition, each contributor shall pay a user charge rate for operation and maintenance, including replacement, of one dollar twenty-two cents ($1.22) per one thousand (1,000) gallons of water as determined in this Chapter.
B. 
Any user which discharges any toxic pollutants which cause an increase in the cost of managing the effluent or the sludge from the City's treatment works, or any user which discharges any substance which singly or by interaction with other substances cause identifiable increases in the cost of operation, maintenance, or replacement of the treatment works, shall pay for such increased costs. The charge to each such user shall be as determined by the responsible Sewerage System operating personnel and approved by the Board of Aldermen.
C. 
No sewerage services shall be furnished or rendered by the City's sewerage system or any of the facilities thereof free of charge to any customer or user thereof, other than to the City itself.
D. 
In the event of a break in a water line wherein the customer is responsible for payment of the additional water that is used due to the break in said water line, there shall be no additional sewer charge unless it can be shown that the water from the break in the water line actually went into the City sewer system.
[Ord. No. 208 Art. 5, 11-20-1980; Ord. No. 357 §12, 5-5-1992; Ord. No. 390 §715.110, 3-7-1994]
For persons liable for payment of a sewer service charge who obtain any water from any source other than the City's Water System, each month the total amount of water furnished such person for the preceding monthly period shall be determined, the amount of the sewerage service charge for such person, computed as aforesaid, and a bill rendered.
[Ord. No. 208 Art. 5, 11-20-1980; Ord. No. 357 §13, 5-4-1992; Ord. No. 390 §715.120, 3-7-1994]
As used herein, the term "monthly" shall mean a preceding period of approximately one (1) month, beginning and ending as near the same day of the month as is practicable for the water meters of the City to be read. In reading said meters and in calculating the water bills and sewerage service charges, aforesaid, the monthly period shall extend from the time such meter was read for the preceding month to the date the same is read for a current month.
[Ord. No. 2789 §§1 – 3, 6-2-2015]
The occupant and user of the premises receiving services; including electrical, natural gas billing, water or sewer services, the occupant and owner of said premises shall be jointly and severally liable to pay for such services rendered on said premises. The City shall have the power to sue the occupant or the owner, or both, of such real estate and a civil action to recover any sums due for such services, plus a reasonable attorney's fee to be fixed by the court. Any notice of termination of service shall be sent to both the occupant and owner of the premises receiving such service, if such owner has requested in writing to receive any notice of termination and has provided the entity rendering such service with the owners business addresses.
[Ord. No. 322 §2, 3-19-1990; Ord. No. 357 §§14 — 17, 5-4-1992; Ord. No. 390 §715.170, 3-7-1994; Ord. No. 897 §4, 6-5-2000; Ord. No. 1833 §§1 — 2, 10-17-2005; Ord. No. 2734 §4, 12-1-2014; Ord. No. 2861 §4, 1-19-2016; Ord. No. 3191, 2-20-2018; Ord. No. 3324, 12-18-2018; Ord. No. 3377, 5-7-2019; Ord. No. 3493, 3-3-2020; Ord. No. 3600, 10-20-2020]
A. 
The following, except as hereinafter provided, shall be the schedule of monthly charges for water and sewer service furnished by the City of St. Robert, to wit:
1. 
Water for residential and commercial:
a. 
Charges, except as provided in Subsection (A)(l)(b), below:
(1) 
For the first five thousand (5,000) gallons or fraction thereof, there will be a minimum charge of fifteen dollars ninety-two cents ($15.92) for water. This charge is mandatory.
(2) 
For all in excess of five thousand (5,000) gallons a charge of four dollars thirty-five cents ($4.35) per one thousand (1,000) gallons or fraction thereof for water in addition to the charges for the first five thousand (5,000) gallons of water.
b. 
Charges for the Ridge Creek Subdivision:
(1) 
A customer charge of thirty-three dollars two cents ($33.02) per month.
(2) 
A commodity charge of five dollars thirty cents ($5.30) per one thousand (1,000) gallons or fraction thereof for water, in addition to the monthly customer charge.
2. 
A fee for water and sewer service outside the City limits will be:
a. 
For the first five thousand (5,000) gallons or fraction thereof, there will be a minimum charge of thirty-six dollars seventeen cents ($36.17) for water. This charge is mandatory.
b. 
For all in excess of five thousand (5,000) gallons a charge of seven dollars twenty-three cents ($7.23) per one thousand (1,000) gallons or fraction thereof for water in addition to the charges for the first five thousand (5,000) gallons of water.
3. 
Provided, however, that in the event that there shall be more than one (1) service connection to any water meter, there shall be a minimum monthly charge of three dollars ($3.00) for each such connection, except that this provision shall not apply to motels or property used only to provide overnight accommodations.
4. 
Whenever the City finds that any meter is failing to register the customer's usage of water, for any reason, including damage to the meter, an average bill may be rendered to the customer, at the option of the City, based on either the previous three (3) months' average use when said meter was in good order or based on the same month or months of the preceding year. Whenever the City has reason to believe that a meter is not registering correctly, an average bill, as stated above, may be rendered, and the meter may be removed for testing. If the average bill proves to be incorrectly estimated, either by actual testing or by the documentation of the customer's actual water consumption after a corrected meter is installed, the average bill shall be adjusted accordingly.
[Ord. No. 357 §22, 5-4-1992; Ord. No. 390 §715.171, 3-7-1994; Ord. No. 1833 §§3 — 4, 10-17-2005; Ord. No. 1841 §§1 — 2, 11-7-2005; Ord. No. 2734 §4, 12-1-2014; Ord. No. 2861 §4, 1-19-2016; Ord. No. 3192, 2-20-2018; Ord. No. 3494, 3-3-2020]
A. 
The following, except as hereinafter provided, shall be the schedule of monthly charges for sewer service furnished by the sewerage system of the City of St. Robert, to wit:
1. 
For the first five thousand (5,000) gallons or fraction thereof, there will be a minimum charge of twenty-seven dollars fifty cents ($27.50) for sewer. This charge is mandatory.
2. 
For all in excess of five thousand (5,000) gallons, a charge of four dollars thirty-five cents ($4.35) per one thousand (1,000) gallons or fraction thereof for water, in addition to the charges for the first five thousand (5,000) gallons of water.
3. 
For all under metered water supplies, the water usage shall be estimated as follows for determining the sewer service charge:
a. 
Single-family residences and mobile homes. Four thousand (4,000) gallons per month.
b. 
Multi-family residences. Four thousand (4,000) gallons per family residence per month.
c. 
Other facilities. Flows as determined by Missouri Clean Water Commission regulation 10 CSR 20-8.020.
4. 
A fee for sewer service outside the City limits will be:
a. 
For the first five thousand (5,000) gallons or fraction thereof, there will be a minimum charge of thirty-six dollars seventeen cents ($36.17) for water. This charge is mandatory.
b. 
For all in excess of five thousand (5000) gallons, a charge of seven dollars twenty-three cents ($7.23) per one thousand (1000) gallons or fraction thereof for water, in addition to the charges for the first five thousand (5000) gallons of water.
5. 
The Sewer charge for Sawmill, Lynn's main, Hemphill and Crosscut is twenty-seven dollars fifty cents ($27.50) based on a five thousand (5,000) gallon estimated consumption.
6. 
All customers will pay for actual water usage for sewer.
[Ord. No. 322 §1, 3-19-1990; Ord. No. 390 §715.175, 3-7-1994]
Before the sewer bill of a customer will be adjusted because of a water leak it must be verified by an employee of the City of St. Robert appointed by the Director of Public Works.
[Ord. No. 322 §4, 3-19-1990; Ord. No. 337 §11, 4-8-1991; Ord. No. 338 §§10 — 11, 8-12-1991; Ord. No. 357 §§18 — 21, 5-4-1992; Ord. No. 390 §715.190, 3-7-1994; Ord. No. 722 §§1 — 2, 8-23-1999]
A. 
Applications for water and sewer service to premises never before connected with the City's water or sewer system, shall be made to the Director of Public Works or any other person designated by him/her, by the owner or occupant of the property to be served.
B. 
The cost for water and sewer taps will be as set out in Appendix A to Chapter 500 or the cost of materials, labor and equipment, whichever is greater.
C. 
Upon the approval of the application for a water or sewer tap, (within three (3) working days) the owner or occupant will pay to the City Collector, payment as per subsection (B) above, for the water tap. The City will bring said service to the property line. The property owner will be responsible for maintaining the water service from the meter to the house, and the sewer service from the property line to the house.
D. 
Before the water service is turned on, any remaining cost in excess of, payment amount as per Subsection (B) above, for water tap will be paid to the Public Works Administrative Assistant.
E. 
A "tap" is defined as any time a single penetration is made of a main to provide service.
F. 
Any other action taken by the City employees, other than a tap, to provide water or sewer service will be assessed at an actual cost of material, labor and machine usage. Penetration of a pipe other than a main to install a water meter will not be considered a tap and will be assessed at the actual cost rate.
[Ord. No. 360 §§1 — 5, 11-2-1992]
A. 
Each customer of the City of St. Robert water system shall pay the fee established by this Section, as a part of the monthly charges imposed upon each customer by the City.
B. 
The fee established by this Section shall be enumerated separately from all other charges on the statement submitted to each customer by the City.
C. 
The amount of said fee charged to each customer, per month, shall be as follows:
1. 
The sum of fifteen cents ($0.15) for each customer who is served by a water meter which is not greater than one (1) inch in size.
2. 
The sum of forty-two cents ($0.42) for each customer which is served by a water meter which is greater than one (1) inch but not greater than two (2) inches in size.
3. 
The sum of two dollars eight cents ($2.08) for each customer who is served by a water meter which is greater than two (2) inches but not greater than four (4) inches in size.
4. 
The sum of four dollars seventeen cents ($4.17) for each customer who is served by a water meter which is greater than four (4) inches in size.
D. 
The amounts collected by the City pursuant to this Section shall be transferred by the City to the Director of the Department of Revenue on a quarterly basis, except that the City shall retain a sum equal to two percent (2%) of the amounts collected by it as compensation for its expenses for billing and collecting.
E. 
This Section is intended to comply with the requirements contained in Section 640.100, RSMo.
[Ord. No. 986 §§1 — 6, 10-16-2000]
A. 
Effective August 28, 2000, the fees for water pollution control permits from the Department of Natural Resources will change. Senate Bill 741, signed into law on June 26, 2000, increased the fee for nearly all the construction and operating permits issued through the Water Pollution Control Program. However, effective August 28, 2000, the bill eliminates the fees for permits on all publicly owned sewer treatment systems. While the bill removes the requirement for public systems to pay the permit fee after August 28th, it also imposes a new requirement for those public systems to collect a State fee directly from their customers. All permit fees normally due before or on August 27, 2000, will be invoiced.
B. 
The change accomplishes two (2) goals: it eliminates a State-imposed cost on public agencies that has been the target of debate under the Hancock Amendment; and, it generates additional State income to administer the permits issued to public systems without imposing new costs to the publicly owned agencies. Based on projections, the service connection fee will generate an additional five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000.00) for the State's water pollution control effort.
C. 
The new "service connection fee" for water pollution control is structured similar to the fees paid on public water systems under the Drinking Water Law. This fee is charged by the State on individual users, or customers, of a public sewer system. The previous fee, which was a "permit fee", was charged to the owner of the treatment plant.
D. 
Calculation Of Fees.
1. 
Each residential customer of a publicly owned sewer system must pay the State an amount between forty cents ($.40) and eighty cents ($.80) annually for each connection to a water supply system. For businesses, the fee ranges between three dollars ($3.00) and twenty-five dollars ($25.00) for each connection, but cannot exceed seven hundred dollars ($700.00) for any single business.
2. 
The amount paid by the residential customer is related to the total number of customers served by a single public sewer. When the total number of customers (residential and business customers combined) in a service area increases beyond the area's present fee category, the fee for each residential customer decreases.
3. 
The following table reflects the relationship between the customers served and the annual fee rates:
Customers Served
Annual Fee Per Residential Customer
1,000 or fewer
80 cents
1,001 — 7,000
70 cents
7,001 — 20,000
60 cents
20,001 — 35,000
50 cents
35,001 or more
40 cents
4. 
The sliding scale reflects the differing administrative costs that the department incurs when administering permits to public sewer systems of different sizes. The department's total cost increases as the size of a system increases, but the cost decreases per each person served.
5. 
Commercial and industrial customers discharging to a public sewer with no connection to a public water supply shall pay three dollars ($3.00). If connected to a public water supply, a fee is charged for each connection. The amount for each connection is based on the size of the pipe at the connection. The point of the connection shall be at the meter.
Size of Connection
Fee Per Connection
1 inch (or private water supply)
$3.00
>1 inch up to 4 inches
$10.00
>4 inches
$25.00
Fees are not charged on connections made available for fire suppression and irrigation systems. The combined amount for all connections at one (1) commercial or industrial facility shall not be more than seven hundred dollars ($700.00).
E. 
Collection Of Fees.
1. 
Anyone operating a public sewer system will be required to collect the fees from the residences and businesses connected to their system. Where a system simply collects wastewater and sends the wastewater to another public system for treatment, the initial collection system will be expected to obtain the fee from the residences and businesses connected to their system.
2. 
The amount owed by the customers, minus five percent (5%), shall be remitted to the State on at least a yearly basis. The statute allows the public sewer system to retain five percent (5%) of the collections to cover administrative costs associated with their billing and collection efforts.
3. 
Once a remittance schedule has been arranged with the operator of the public system, the State will send billing notices several months in advance of the agreed upon remittance date. The notice will contain a form similar to the form used by the Drinking Water Program on drinking water fees. The operator will be asked to provide information concerning the amount and type of customers served and the amount collected and remitted. The count of the customers served by the public sewer system should be accurate to the number of connections existing within sixty (60) days of the remittance date.
F. 
Every system that sends untreated wastewater to another public sewer system for treatment will be asked to identify how many customers are served by their retail system. The State will request information on the number of the residential and industrial/commercial customers served and how much wastewater is passed through to another system. Each operator will need to decide with the State how to structure a billing and collection program to fulfill the new fee requirements of the Clean Water Law. Department staff is available to help address questions and concerns as they arise.
G. 
Effective Date.
1. 
The new fees go into effect on August 28, 2000. All systems will have up to one (1) year to collect the new fees from their customers and make their first (1st) remittance to the State.
2. 
Systems may choose to collect the fees from their customers on either a monthly, quarterly or annual schedule. Remittance to the State must be made no less than yearly. The State will ask each system to identify their preferred collection and payment cycles. The State will allow each system to use existing billing procedures if their procedures achieve the State's minimum collection and payment schedules.
3. 
The department will begin efforts to promulgate rules on the collection and remittance requirements through the Clean Water Commission.
H. 
Duration.
1. 
The bill extended the sunset date on fees to December 31, 2007. The law allows the Clean Water Commission to adjust the fees downward in the event the collections exceed the State's targeted income levels for administering the permits on the publicly owned wastewater treatment systems. Such an adjustment must be promulgated by rule.
2. 
The additional monies generated by the service connection fee will help cover a funding shortfall within the Water Pollution Control Program. Monies spent by the program go toward ensuring timely permit review, assisting applicants and permit holders with technical issues, inspecting facilities and responding to public concerns and questions.
3. 
Anyone desiring more information on the new fees may contact Phil Schroeder at the Water Pollution Control Program at 573-751-1300.
The City will provide the required barrel, water meter, piping and manpower to set the water meter within ten (10) feet of the water main. The materials and labor are paid by the facility being served and are determined by the actual cost of the materials and manpower. The facility being served has the responsibility of providing all material and labor from the meter to the structure. Additionally, the City will make any necessary taps for fire suppression piping for a facility. The cost of the material and labor are paid by the facility at a tap fee rate as set out in Appendix A to Chapter 500.
The City will make all taps required by the facility. The cost for material and labor are paid for by the facility.
[Ord. No. 1650 §§1 — 4, 4-5-2004]
A. 
All utility customers that have water service connection with the City of St. Robert are required to have a main water shut-off valve at the closest entrance of the water service line within the structure.
B. 
A request by any utility customer for the shut-off of the water service (water meter) for the repair of any water leak within the structure that does not have a main water shut-off valve shall have the service shut off for repairs. The service shall not be restored until a main water shut-off valve is installed within the structure at the closest point of the water service entrance.
C. 
A service fee of seventy-five dollars ($75.00) shall be required to cover the cost of this function by the Water Department whether during normal business hours or after hours. This service fee shall be attached to the next utility billing cycle.
D. 
There will be no charge for any request for water shut off at the meter due to a leak of the service line between the meter and the structure.